Romania Health Min Sees Uterine Cancer Vaccination Campaign As Total Fiasco

Romania’s health minister Ion Bazac said Sunday, after he presented the outcome of the audit report regarding the national vaccination campaign against uterine cancer, that a commission of experts must be set up to renegotiate the supply contract of vaccines.

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Romania Health Min Says Uterine Vaccination Campaign A Total Fiasco

Following talks with the two pharmaceutical companies that supplied the vaccines, Bazac said he plans to launch a screening program nationwide aiming to track uterine cancer in early stages, to initiate an ample information campaign targeting vaccination against HPV (a virus associated with 96% of uterine cancer cases) and to thoroughly train the staff directly involved in this campaign.

The minister added this is a serious and complex issue, which must be carefully dealt with on the medium and long run, adding it entails social, administrative and medical responsibility.

According to the audit report, of all fourth grade girls countrywide, only 2,615 were vaccinated with the first dose, which translates into 2.57% of the eligible population, and remaining doses are in the hands of regional public health departments across the country.

The report also indicates the campaign mainly failed because people, especially parents and doctors, were misinformed or simply did not receive enough information in this respect.

The ministry wants the vaccination program to go hand in hand with the screening program and requested the companies supplying HPV vaccines to re-discuss the contract in order to allow an efficient implementation of the project.

The country’s former Health Ministry launched a EUR23 million national vaccination campaign on November 20, 2008, which targeted 110,000 fourth grade girls.

Statistically, Romania is first in Eastern Europe by deaths caused by uterine cancer and six Romanian women die of this illness every day. Moreover, 3,448 Romanian women are diagnosed with uterine cancer every year and 2,094 of them die.

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